End of the Dream
by millennium rod
Summary: They wouldn't get away with what they did to him. Ignorance of their wrongdoings was hardly an excuse. Character death, and semi-explicit violence.


Alright, you guys, surprise- I haven't updated anything lately because I've been working on this somewhat odd oneshot. This long (for me, at least), twisted oneshot. Like honestly, this thing may not be the most screwed up thing ever in this fandom, but I still wouldn't recommend this if you don't like violence and character death. But if you're like me and just want to read about a psycho Ryou killing people, then go right ahead and read this. Shh, no one is going to judge you here.

Xxx

If you think about it, power is a funny thing.

At first, it's nothing more than a far off dream. It's the thing we, as human beings, live to achieve. We dream of the day when our delusions of grandeur finally make the long awaited shift from hopes to realities. And on the off chance that they do, the last thing we imagine is the possibility that- at any given moment- it could all be stripped away.

Which may be the reason why role reversals are so easy to pull off.

No one considers the idea of a quiet, calm, and altogether innocent person becoming their worst nightmare. Kings don't fear their royal subjects and supporters, who only exist to do their bidding.

The last thing any of them expect is to find a wolf in sheep's clothing, waiting for their chance to pounce and devour them.

But then, isn't that the true intention of life? To be full of surprises?

Xxx

Despite the dim, flickering light spreading across the small room formed by the walls of an abandoned storehouse, the shadows cast on your faces are enough to obscure all the minute details of your expressions. Not that there's much to see, though- all of you are still unconscious, I would assume. If you were awake, you would be screaming, or at least making more noise than you currently are. Hopefully, though, I won't have to wait much longer to start—I wanted to knock all of you out when I captured you, but I tried not to cause any immediate, permanent damage. That would make things happen more quickly than I had intended; and that, in turn, would steal away some of the fun. Days like this one were meant to be savored, after all.

I sigh, unconsciously tapping my fingers against the wall behind me. I was doing my best to remain calm, to not lose my temper and do something rash that I would only regret later. But it was just so _boring,_ standing and waiting. Hadn't I done enough of that as it was? How much longer was I expected to wait, letting the adrenaline affect my body so much that I was shaking rather violently?

But just as I can't take it any longer, and I _need _to start it early whether you were ready or not and I _need _to release this energy and I NEED TO DO THIS BECAUSE DAMN IT I'VE WAITED TOO LONG-

One of you stirs.

At first I can't tell which of you made the initial movement. At a time like this, all of you are the same to me- unimportant, yet all I had ever dreamed of. A perfect contradiction.

But upon closer inspection, it becomes much easier to tell which one of you is clearly shifting your way into consciousness. Intrigued, I move closer, wanting to witness for myself the raw terror that I'm sure you're about to express.

Your eyelids flutter open, and you groan, even the dim light too much for your eyes, currently accustomed to complete darkness, to handle. You bring a hand to your forehead- or, at least, you attempt to do so. Of course there was no way I would allow you access to your arms- I was hardly in the mood to run around chasing you after I went to such great lengths to bring you here. No, I made sure to chain them above your head- uncomfortable, I'm sure, but certainly the most effective.

Slowly, as you try and fail to move your body, you become painfully and obviously aware of your surroundings. Your head whips around, eyes wide in fear. Your panic seems to increase with each passing second, until it eventually and evidently reaches its climax when you scream.

I allow you to stay like that for a moment or two, letting the sound of your raw, unadulterated agony wash over me. This was it; this was what I had waited so long for… and to think that it was only the beginning…

A moment or two later, your unfocused eyes finally settle on me. They widen even further with fear.

"Who are you?" you ask, your voice barely risen above a whisper. I can't help but stifle a laugh. I have no trouble seeing you, so why aren't you seeing me? Is it because nothing has changed since then? Those horrible, horrible days where I hardly counted as an afterthought? Is that why it was so easy to forget my face?

"Who am I?" I pretend to consider his question for a moment or two. "I'm not quite sure. I was hoping you would be able to tell me, but it seems that your memory is as second-rate as the rest of you."

You pause for a moment, searching for a comeback of some sort. Not that I expected much of a response from you. You always liked to talk big, but you were only a coward at heart. In a situation like this, your bravado was bound to crumble in a matter of seconds. Even you were able to figure out that your words wouldn't be able to save you now.

"You're…" you grit your teeth and look directly up at me. _Challenge accepted,_ your eyes seem to say. Again, just like you. Always diving into things headfirst, never stopping to consider the consequences. "You're an idiot, thinking that you can get away with this. I would have no problem kicking your ass if I got the chance, you hear me? I-"

I stop you mid-sentence, moving in closer before kicking you in the chest. You gasp, bending over and trying desperately to breathe.

"I don't think that's true. You really don't have any idea what's going on here, do you?" I laugh harshly. I always knew you were stupid, but your reaction is idiotic; to the point where it's less entertaining and more excruciatingly boring. I was still waiting for the moment that everything became real to you. Eventually you would wake up, and try to escape the situation you're in. You would beg, plead, _scream _to be let go from this hell. But when that begins- well, let's be honest here- that's exactly when the fun is going to start. It will be the moment I've been waiting for; been dreaming of for so long. I _will_ give you the appropriate consequences for your actions- no one ever said that justice was a fair game, after all.

I _will_ be the one to win in the end, because I'm the one who has had the advantage from the start. So much for all of you being the heroes, who manage to vanquish all evil from the world. Now you're going to find out what true evil is, and that you will never be able to make it disappear completely.

You've started to shake visibly. For someone that was always defined by their courage more than anything, it was amazing how easily you were cracking. Especially when, in the grand scheme of things, I hadn't even really done anything to you yet.

I sigh in mild annoyance. "So, do you have a guess? Or are you going to sit there shaking, like a stupid, scared little puppy?"

"Shut up," you say, finally catching your breath and inhaling sharply. Your face holds such a pained expression that I can't help but want to laugh again- if you can't handle something so minor, then I'm _really _looking forward to watching you endure the pain that's going to come in the near future. "Shut up and show yourself, if you want me to know who you are."

I give in to my desires and laugh, although I can feel myself growing angrier with each passing second. After everything, after all that you said to me and to others, you still can't tell who I am by the sound of my voice. You, who claimed to care for all of your friends. You, who couldn't do anything without the help of the people you cared about. You, who spent so much time mocking me, berating me, IGNORING ME, FORGETTING ME, HATING ME-

Before I know it, I've grabbed a fistful of your hair. And without a second thought, I yank your head up so you're face to face with me. I can feel myself losing control, but it doesn't matter. You don't recognize me; you're not a friend, you don't _deserve _to be treated nicely…

"Can you see me now?" My voice is louder than I had intended, and you wince ever so slightly. "Who? Am? I!? GOD DAMN IT, JUST SAY MY GOD DAMN NAME!" I'm shaking you back and forth by your hair, too angry to focus on your current expression. Although it's probably a wonderful sight to behold, filled with pain, fear, hatred, tears, EVERYTHING YOU EVER IGNORED WHEN I TRIED TO EXPRESS IT TO YOU-

Finally you cry out, forcing me to stop in my tracks.

"Bakura!" I'm so startled that I let go of your hair, causing you to collapse to the floor as you shake from what must be an excruciating mix of pain and fear. I smile after a moment. You finally did something right- I'm sure it's a new feeling for someone as idiotic as you.

"That took you longer than it should have, _Jounouchi._ Honestly." I end up laughing, despite my efforts to keep a straight face. It's funny, really- if this had happened a year ago, I would have let it go. I would have waited until I was home alone, as always, to show just how much it bothered me. But now, somehow, it feels different. I don't feel bad that you didn't recognize me straight away.

I feel nothing at all, actually.

"So it is y-" I cut you off again, kicking you in the chest.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." I pause, mainly for effect. "Of course, if you want to scream, I certainly won't stop you." I end up grinning at the thought of it. You could scream for hours, even if the pain I've inflicted upon you is positively minimal. You _will _scream, just as I have all this time- and exactly as you have, I will refuse to help you. I'll leave you to die, and I'll move on to the next one of your insufferable "friends." Who knows? Maybe I'll keep you alive for just a bit longer, just to let you watch as I finally come out on top. I'll allow you to bear witness to the disappearance of your friends' souls, answering the question once and for all- what would have happened if I hadn't saved you that day so long ago, when we first played that RPG together?

What _is _happening, now that you've chosen to ignore my sacrifice?

"Bakura, come on…" My last kick left you gasping for air, and you can't even summon the strength to look up at me anymore. Not that you ever did, but I digress.

"Why… why are you doing this? We were… we're _still_ friends, aren't we?"

My smile fades. "Friends…" the word on my tongue feels as though it came from a foreign language. "I don't think you've ever said that to me since the day we first met, have you? Or am I forgetting something?"

"Bakura, I-"

"AREN'T FRIENDS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM? TO TRUST YOU? TO HAVE FAITH IN YOU? WHEN THE FUCK DID YOU EVER DO THAT FOR ME, YOU STUPID DOG?" I've lost it again. I'm there, but I'm not. Even as I slap you at least a dozen times, I barely feel the impact of my hand against your face. I'm strangely detached as I abruptly stop, rise, and retrieve my knife from the table across the room. I have other tools at my disposal as well, but this one has always been a personal favorite of mine- a perfect start to a perfect celebration. It was my father's when he was my age, passed down to me when I turned 13 years old- presumably in an attempt to make me seem more masculine. But no matter what his motives were, it was possibly the second-greatest gift he ever gave to me- the best, of course, being the Millennium ring.

Even in the semi-darkness, I can see your face grow pale the second I turn around. It seems to me as though you've finally acknowledged your fate. You finally see that the one you mistreated all this time- the "innocent" one, who existed only to serve in a pawn on your friend's path to justice- is going to become your worst nightmare in your final moments.

A much more accurate observation than I had been expecting from someone as stupid as you.

I smile for you, a mocking gesture that you immediately pick up on. And yet, you don't fight back. It may just be an assumption of mine, but it seems you've already given up.

Pathetic.

"Don't worry," I say, gently touching your cheek with my right hand as I prepare my knife in my left. "If you'd like, I can make your death come quickly." You nod wordlessly, and I laugh. "So that is what you want? Hmm." I pretend to consider his request. "I don't think I will, actually. You never listened to me…" I place the knife against your throat. "So I don't see any reason to listen to you now."

Before you have a chance to react in any way, I've made a move for the chains binding your hands to the wall. I manage to undo them rather quickly, and even during the brief moment that you could have overpowered me with only your hands, you seem to be so petrified that rebellion is no longer a possibility. Your arms hang limply at your sides- an interesting position for the one who was threatening to beat me up not even five minutes ago.

I can feel you shaking violently as I lightly trail the tip of the knife over your shoulder and down your arm- not with enough force to draw blood, but enough to make you even more uncomfortable than you already are. Eventually, I stop at your hand.

"Bakura, stop, come on, w-why are you- come on, why are you-"

"Why"" I feel my smile widen ever so slightly. "Let's count the reasons together, shall we?" I take your left hand in mine, set the knife to the side, and use my newly freed hand to grab your little finger.

"First reason: You can't tell me, the one you said was your friend, from the dark spirit that always takes over." I bend your finger back, so slowly that around 10 seconds must pass by between the start and the cracking sound that follows. The more slowly I do it, I figure, the more pain you'll have to feel. And based on your face at the moment that your bone gives into the pressure, this method was extremely effective in getting my point across.

You don't even bother to look at your finger before you start to scream, much louder than before. I don't bother to pause- acknowledging your pain would be boring, undeserved, and a complete disregard of the point I was trying to make.

"Second reason." Next up is your ring finger, on the same hand as before. You wince at the feeling of my hand so close to your broken finger. "You never, ever believed in my abilities. You had no doubt that Yugi would win against my darkness and I, each and every time." I smile. "Good thing I managed to prove that theory wrong, hm?" Another crack rings out.

"Third reason. Every single time I begged you to listen, to help me, you ignored me." Crack.

"Fourth reason." Crack.

Crack.

_Crack._

One snap, increasingly quick and increasingly forceful, for each of your ten fingers. Each one, an equivalent exchange for one reason I'm doing this to you, increasingly loud and increasingly painful.

"Tenth reason. You never listened to anything I had to say, not even when I screamed it for you!" At this point, I'm not even attempting to be gentle anymore. I push your remaining little finger backwards as quickly and with as much force as you can possibly summon. You can't even scream anymore, not even as I force your hands upwards towards your face, requiring you to take a long, hard look at the mess of flesh and bone that used to be your fingers. Every single one of them is bent into a different, increasingly macabre angle, and bits of the splintered bone are sticking out of most of them, surrounded by small amounts of blood.

You stare at them, whimpering from the pain that must be radiating from your hands and through the rest of your body right now.

"Come to think of it," I say calmly, "If you were number 2, and I was in last place, would I move up to second place as soon as I kill you?" You glare at me, attempting to summon the fighting spirit that you always used to flaunt for all to see. Of course; in a situation like this one, you're obviously failing.

"And actually, I could easily beat you in a duel as well, now. After all, you wouldn't even be able to draw a card." I laugh, and you give me exactly the reaction I desired. I've struck a nerve, and you're making in painfully obvious- if it was even remotely possible for me to feel anything short of hatred for you, I would probably be suffering from secondhand embarrassment right about now.

"Ba… kura…" Your voice is low, and your strength is obviously giving way to pain. "Please…"

"Oh, and I have one more reason." I take the knife back into my hands, allowing your hands to fall to the floor, completely forgotten after another flash of noticeable pain for you. I place the blade against your throat. "I'll give you five seconds to guess what that reason is, and if you can somehow manage to figure it out, I promise that I will spare your life."

You scramble for words, desperately trying to cling onto the right ones. You would do anything to save yourself right about now, even though you've already figured out that you only have moments to live.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

Two."

"One." I grin, and lift your chin so that you're eye to eye with me. "Time's up," I say, in a singsong sort of tone that sends a shiver down your spine.

"No, p-please, I-" But you never get the chance to say anything more than that, as I apply enough force to my knife tp pierce through your skin. Your eyes widen, and you sputter through the blood that quickly wells up in your mouth. The crimson liquid rushes out, coating the blade and the floor around you. It flows down and dyes your clothes a stunning, deep red. You cough a few times after I remove the blade, and tears stain your eyes as the life quickly drains from them. You slump forward as you lose consciousness, and it's only a matter of moments before your body is completely still.

I look at your freshly-created corpse for a time that stretches on for what feels like several hours, and I can't help but smile a bit. I rise from my knees in front of you, blood staining my clothes, and return to the table where I first grabbed the knife. I take one last item- my parting gift to you- before returning to your side.

"Reason number 11, Jounouchi," I say slowly, lifting your head in order to gain easier access to your mutilated neck. Blood stains my fingers as I fasten the dog collar around your neck, right below the wound from the knife. A perfect fit, both in size and symbolism, for someone as pathetic as you I suddenly understand why Kaiba always called you a mutt. "It's really too bad you couldn't figure it out." I smile sadly.

"All you had to do was call me by my first name."

Then, once again, the room is silent, to the point where it's completely possible to hear the drops of blood splat against the floor. Slowly I rise to my feet, and step backward to admire my handiwork.

And in that moment, I want so much more.

One of you is dead, and three of you still remain. Three of _you_, the people that I've wanted revenge against for so long.

And lucky for me- I always was an impatient person, whether I liked it or not- it seems as though this number is going to decrease in a matter of moments. The next victim stirs ever so slightly, gradually removing itself from its deep slumber. I grin, and take a few steps before kneeling down next to you as I did for Jounouchi mere moments ago.

Your eyes crack themselves open slowly at first, then widen out of nowhere as you slowly become aware of your surroundings. I had been thinking this entire time that watching that look of terror spread over you would be less exciting the second time around. Surprisingly (but in the best way possible), you're proving me wrong.

"Where-" You whip your head around desperately, doing your best to grab onto any answers you possibly can. "W-what-" You stop dead in your tracks as your eyes settle upon the body next to you. Slowly your gaze moves downwards, and you take notice of the blood pooling around you. And that is the moment when you start to scream, even louder than your friend did as he woke up. You try to scramble away from the pool of crimson, and only continue to scream as you realize that you're chained to the wall and can't move away.

Amazingly enough, your scream is loud enough to shake another of you awake. And after that, it's only a matter of moments before the final one of you opens their eyes as well.

Three of you are awake, and three of you remain. I can't help but laugh again, the sudden perfection of this situation too much for me to contain.

Of course, I won't be killing you all at once. Some of you are going to get the privilege of watching every last minute of it, as your "friends" beg for the lives they'll never get back. You will be lucky enough to hear their agonized screams, their last moments before giving in to death. It'll horrify you, I'm sure. But on the other hand, it'll make me happier than I've ever, _ever _been.

Which one of you is going to go first, I wonder? I think I know.

"You…" Finally one of you brings yourself to speak, as the other two shoot horrified looks at the other. But you… you stare me straight in the eye, probably for the first time since the day we met.

At least, that _I _can remember.

I smile at you, trying (and, based on your reaction, apparently succeeding) to come off as being as condescending as possible. "What a surprise," I say coolly. "I had a feeling that you were going to let your dark side take over. But maybe you're less of a coward than I thought."

"You're… is that you, Bakura?" I clap, albeit mockingly.

"Congratulations, you actually managed to figure it out. Much better than our second rate friend over there." I quickly gesture over to Jounouchi's body.

"Bakura…" You pause and grit your teeth, swallowing back a mixture of fear and anger. It's so unlike you and the spirit that inhabited your body- weren't you always the one that would yell out in anger when a friend was threatened, just as you would when you were calling out an attack in Duel Monsters? Isn't this where you are supposed to tell me that I won't get away with this? That I'm a fool, and nothing more?

Or could it be that you've figured out the key to this reality? That nothing in this world is even close to being as it seems at first glance?

"Are you going to say anything worthwhile? Or should I just kill you for good, right here and right now?" Despite the nonchalant tone in my voice, everyone in the room instantly freezes and tenses up.

"You wouldn't…" This time, the voice is distinctly female, leaving only one possibility for who its owner could be. "Bakura, did you get the ring back from Yugi? T-this is the spirit of the ring, isn't it?"

I freeze immediately. Again with the doubt, again with the innocent bullshit, AGAIN WITH THE GOD DAMN UNDERESTIMATING-

I breathe.

I need to stay calm.

Things never, ever go well when I let myself get angry.

"I thought you were smart," I finally say, after calming myself slightly with a deep breath. "I thought you, of all people, would recognize me for who I am. After all, weren't you the one who was always going on about friendship, no matter how inconvenient the moment was?" I pause. "Or was I just never your friend in the first place?"

"I-"

"Tell me again that I'm the spirit of the ring," I growl. "Tell me one more time how I, Ryou Bakura, am anyone but myself. Say to me how innocent I am, how I'm completely incapable of hatred!" My voice rises steadily with every single word, until I cut my sentence off in a yell. I quickly kneel down and grab you by the throat, ending your scream quickly and abruptly.

Your eyes say everything that your voice no longer can, and they're begging me to let go of your neck. Since that's no longer a possibility, I choose to tighten my grip instead, moving my second hand over my first for an increased amount of force. You thrash around, attempting to escape the fate you already know is about to meet you, but the chains around your body severely limit your range of motion, and you give up on that (probably an automatic response, meant to save energy) around ten seconds in.

"Don't you want to say anything before I kill you for good, Anzu?" I ask you mockingly, tacking on a harsh laugh to the end. I raise my voice into a falsetto. "Friends don't hurt friends, Bakura! I'm so sorry, Bakura! Don't kill Yugi, Bakura!"

I let go of you almost as abruptly as I grabbed you. Immediately you sputter for air, coughing violently in your attempts to refill your lungs with the oxygen your body needs. You stare up at me, your eyes dull and full of hatred for me. "Ba… Baku… ra…" You pant, in between coughs and gasps. I grin.

"Don't think for a second that I'm showing you mercy," I say casually. "Your turn will come sooner or later. But first, there are some things I want you to see, which is why I can't actually kill you yet." I rise and walk away from you, stopping instead in front of Yugi. Somewhere along the line, he switched into the one you love so much, with the deep voice and charming smile. The original is, I assume, being pushed back into his soul room, thanks to his other half wanting him to remain unaware of his… _situation._ Wouldn't that be a nice thing, to be possessed by a spirit who actually cares for you…?

You, "Yugi," turn to me and scowl.

"You had better not touch her again, Bakura," you say in a failed attempt at seeming threatening. It's so pitiful that I end up laughing for a moment.

"You're hardly in the position to be bargaining for someone else's life right now," I say, still laughing. "By the time I get to her, though, I guarantee that there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. After all, you won't even be there to see it." My grin widens. "But on the other hand, she will get to stay alive long enough to see you in your final moments." You growl, anger flashing through your eyes as you stare up at me.

"Why, Bakura?" you say, your ever-present temper beginning to show through. "What did I do? What did any of us do to you for you to do something like this?"

Unconsciously, I run my fingers lightly over the ring though my shirt. _Ready to come out? _I think, projecting my thoughts to my other self. _It's your turn._ He's been waiting for so long, just as I have- although to be fair, his hatred has spanned millennia, But of course we feel the same way. We're a team after all, just as Yugi and the spirit of the puzzle are. He cannot currently exist without me, and I would have no purpose for living without him. He helped me, and this is the only other thing I can think of doing to help him in return. After this, he will have no need for me. He'll have gotten what he's always dreamed of. He'll have won.

After a moment, a familiar voice speaks in the back of my head. _Alright, Ryou. I'll only be a minute. Then you can do whatever you want with the rest; I really don't care._

_ Right._ I close my eyes, and let him take over. _Enjoy this while you can, Bakura. You deserve it._

Xxx

I open my eyes, my host having relinquished control to me at long last. His grin remains on my face as I look down to see the pharaoh at my feet. His mouth parts slightly with shock.

"You…" It seems that you recognize me, now that- unlike so many other times before this one- I'm not posing as my host. It was always so easy to fool you; we really are so similar…

"Pharaoh." I kneel down next to you. "How are you? Have you enjoyed the show my host has been putting on for you?"

"You're the one who's really behind this, aren't you Bakura?" You narrow your eyes. "You've been controlling him this whole time, haven't you?"

I laugh for a long time at that; at your obvious stupidity. "You had best not let my host hear you saying that. He isn't exactly very fond of people who make that sort of assumption." I grab your chin, pulling you forward. "My host is insane, you know- not that you haven't noticed by now, I'm sure. He's been isolated from everyone for years- his mother and sister died when he was young, his father couldn't possibly care less about him, and his friends…" I chuckle darkly. "Well, they always, _always _leave or ignore him. And really, if you think about it, you can only endure so much of that type of torment before you start to crack, am I right?"

Unsurprisingly, you're speechless, so I continue on.

"Did you know that he dreamed of being an actor someday?" I glare at you. "Of course you wouldn't know, since you never bothered to ask, but it's true. After all, if he had met that goal, he finally would have been noticed. Even if it was just for a couple of hours during a movie or a play, all eyes would have been on him. He wouldn't feel quite so alone anymore."

"What-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I rise, and retreat to the table at the other end of the room with all of Ryou's "tools." I'm getting sick of waiting and talking; I need to end this now, once and for all. "Simple. Even if he never made it big, Ryou had acting skills that could rival those of a professional. You might not have ever realized it, but he was using them every single day, whenever he was with you. Because the truth is, most of those smiles were completely fake. Ryou is completely and utterly fucked up, and thanks to his talents, you never saw this coming."

Slowly, you stare down at the floor. Eventually the other two next to you do the same thing.

"Was there anything we could have done to stop it though?" The quietest one out of all of you speaks up at last. Anzu and Yugi, at the very least, had fought back in the beginning. But despite your apparent background as a former thug, you hadn't said a thing the entire time.

Not that it mattered to me. You were to be my host's responsibility, once I was done with mine.

"That's easy." I smile. "You could have paid him some attention."

None of you say another word as I grab the metal bat from the table. Ryou had always preferred to use knives as his weapon of choice- something about being able to get in close to the one you were hurting, I think he had said once. But even when I had been alive in ancient Egypt, I had always received a certain thrill from beating my prey to death with a blunt object of some sort. Granted, I had used rocks and my own fists back in those days, but even I couldn't deny the convenience of something as simple as a bat, now that I was stuck in more modern times.

"Pharaoh," I say, grinning ear to ear. "It's your turn now. I'll finally be the one to defeat you. E-even if it's just your host body this time, I have to…" I raise the bat. I'm shaking with anticipation. This is it; this is really it. I'm going to kill the pharaoh, I'm going to win, I won't be some pathetic villain anymore.

I can and will have my revenge at long last.

I hear Anzu screaming and begging, making a last ditch effort to plead for her beloved's life. I see Honda close his eyes, unwilling to watch the scene about to unfold in front of him.

And you… are no longer the pharaoh. You're Yugi, host of the spirit of the puzzle, and nothing more. I have no idea how or why the pharaoh decided last-minute to give you control again, but that's a thing that hardly matters to me. What matters is that you, the embodiment of the man I've despised for millennia, are smiling at me. Actually _smiling, _despite what you're about to go through. It's a complete contrast to your eyes, which are shining with an apologetic sort of sadness. I tighten my grip on the bat. This isn't how it was supposed to be- you were supposed to plead for your life right now, weren't you? Just like I did back then?

You were supposed to fear for your life, weren't you? Just as I always had when I was alive?

_SO WHY THE FUCK DO YOU GET TO BE SMILING RIGHT NOW?_

I start to bring down the bat- I want to crush that smile off of your damn face, and I have every intention of doing so within the next few seconds.

But I stop, midway to the inevitable connection with your skull, as you start to say something.

"Tell Ryou something for me, would you?"

Sighing, I reluctantly lower the bat. "Whatever the hell it is, it better be good. Make it quick, you little brat."

Tears finally spill over from your eyes. "Tell Ryou… Tell him that I'm sorry. That he… that he had to feel that way all by himself for so long." Your shaky smile widens a bit. "Being alone is terrible. I, of all people, should have realized that. I-I should have done things differently this whole time. And if I could go back and change everything I ever did to him- intentional or not- I would, without a second thought. I-I'm so sorry." After that, you finally let yourself sob, apologizing over and over again.

_Did you hear that, host?_ I think. _It's touching, isn't it?_

_ He just doesn't want to die, _my other self says coolly. _He had a hundred chances to say this sooner, when it would have mattered. So please, just smash his skull in and make him stop talking._

I nod, staring at you as you continue to sob, your head hanging down. Everything you've said and done would have made for a heartwarming scene, if it was anyone else.

But it's you.

The one I hate more than anything or anyone.

And you won't be forgiven.

You're going to die, no matter how much you try and cry your way out of it.

The first time I hit you, the bat cracks across your shoulder, presumably shattering the bone. You flinch, but show no other obvious signs of your pain. It's as if you refuse to give me the satisfaction.

"For my mother," I say, raising the bat again.

A second crack, across your other shoulder.

"For my father."

It goes on and on.

In reality, it probably only took 5 or 6 hits to kill you. But that wasn't anywhere near enough. I hit you for my brother. For my baby sister. For my closest friend. For the girl that I had a childish crush on.

Again.

And again.

99 times.

One hit for every single victim of the massacre in the village of Kul Elna.

Finally, I finish the job that I started what seems like so long ago- I don't know how long it takes; I'm in a different world the entire time. The feeling coursing through me is an absolute euphoria, pounding through my veins as your blood splatters everywhere. It coats the bat, and sprays onto the floor, walls, and clothes of everyone around him. Even when I know that I'm only continuing to beat a dead body countless times, I still feel it. This is my revenge, the thing that I've always wanted.

When at long last I come back down, I'm breathing heavily. The bat- slippery with blood- falls from my hand and onto the ground, skidding through the crimson puddles surrounding it.

Anzu and Honda are staring in horror at the former vessel of the pharaoh0 or, at least, what's left of it. His face is no longer recognizable- it ended up as more of a bloody mess than anything. Most (if not all) of his teeth are gone; knocked and scattered somewhere on the floor.

His limbs are all broken in multiple places, causing them to be distorted into shapes far beyond anything that could be considered normal. The cracked bone was sticking out from the skin in multiple areas (similar to Jounouchi's fingers), blood leaking out around them.

I stood there for a few moments, staring at my handiwork, before I dropped my gaze to the floor.

"I'm finished," I say quietly. "It's… it's all over." I'm so numb to everything that I can't even laugh as I normally would. It really is over. I've killed the pharaoh.

_Ryou,_ I think, projecting my thoughts to my host, somewhere in his soul room. _You can come back now and take care of the rest. It's over, all of it._

_ Did you kill him? _He asked immediately, a spark of hope in his voice. _Anzu was watching, right? I wanted her to see him die._

_ With how much she was screaming during the whole thing, I think I got the point across._

_ Okay. _I close my eyes.

_Ready to come back?_

_ Of course._

_ Alright._

Xxx

I awakne into control of my body with a sudden jolt. All at once, I can tell that the spirit really had achieved his goal, just as he had said before. I could feel, smell, seem and almost taste the blood around me. I grin; partially at the sight of my "friend's" bloody corpse- it looks to me as though Yugi died in control of his own body, after all. But the main reason for my smile is the excitement I feel on the spirit's behalf. Everything he wanted this entire time has been accomplished today. The one person I care about has finally achieved his own sort of peace with the world.

Now it's my turn. I will finish what I started, and do exactly the same thing.

"He did a nice job, didn't he?" I say, taking a few steps back to take a long look at your horrified faces. Anzu, you look like you're about to vomit. And Honda, you look as though you've given up completely. Your eyes are squeezed shut, and you're biting your lower lip so hard that a small trail of blood is making its way down your chin.

"Neither of you have anything else to say? Interesting." I shrug. "Then, Honda…" I grab my knife again- the spirit was kind enough to leave it next to me for easy access- and sit down next to you. I use my fingers to pry open your mouth, and I grab your tongue, pulling it out just enough to suit my purposes. "I'll make sure that you never have anything to say ever again. You can know what it's like, to feel like you have no voice in the world. Is that alright?"

I raise the knife, and- at first, gently- I press the blade against your tongue. Anzu is screaming again, so I shoot her a glare that shuts her up almost immediately. Then I turn back to you, Honda, because you're the star of the show right now. Anzu's turn will be coming in a moment, whether she realizes it or not. With a whisper that is barely audible even to myself, I say one last thing into your ear.

"I don't need to be protected, Honda. It looks like you're the weak one, who needs someone to take care of them." And all at once, I start to apply more pressure onto the knife, and begin to add in a monotonous sawing motion. Up and down, up and down.

Your tongue starts to bleed immediately after I make the initial cut, and the red liquid pours from your mouth and onto my already-bloodstained hands. Surprisingly enough, you barely move at all besides a final wince, as your tongue is completely severed from your body. All total, I would say that the entire process took around thirty seconds.

I hold the piece of your body in my hand, running my fingers over it and staring at you emotionlessly as you sputter and choke an your own blood, impairing your ability to breathe properly. My guess is that you have a minute at the most to live. You attempt to glare up at me one last time, but you don't come off as even remotely menacing. After that, it's only a matter of moments before you finally slump forward, the blood still spilling from your mouth.

Content with Honda and his death, I turn to you, Anzu. "You're the last one left," I say to you. "How does it feel? You're still here, surrounded by the bodies of your friends. Even if I did let you go, you would be completely alone." You murmur something between sobs, and I cup my hand around my ear. "Hm? You're going to need to speak up if you really want to tell me something, Anzu."

You try to compose yourself for a few moments, inhaling sharply to try and stop the flow of tears. Finally, you look up at me. You look more broken than you have the entire time I've seen you- I may not have killed your body quite yet, but it's become painfully obvious that your mind has suffered irreparable damage.

"Kill me," you eventually gasp, trying to compose yourself even the slightest bit. "Please, Bakura, j-just get it over with. I-I don't want to live without my friends, so just k-kill me…"

I smile, mocking you with a sort of false compassion. "You know what, Anzu? Neither did I. It's hard, isn't it?" You lose all progress on keeping yourself together, and you break into another fit of sobs. "It makes you want to die, doesn't it? It makes you want to hurt the person who did this to you, doesn't it?" I pause. "Well, you know what? I'm still going to hurt you. That's the key difference between us, Anzu- once I decide that I want something, I will make sure it happens." I take a step closer to you.

"That is the reason that I'm going to kill you right now. I can tell you for a fact that I hold no pity for you, and that I hardly consider myself to be 'putting you out of your misery.' I just want you dead, and I get what I want."

First, I have to undo the chains binding you to the wall. I immediately grab you by the wrist- not that I think you're going to get away; you don't even attempt to run before I do so. You've accepted your death, and it's really just a matter of how long it will take before we get to that point.

You don't say another word in the last few minutes of your life. Even as I tie the rope around your neck, you're silent. Even as I pull the chair out from underneath you, the only audible sound in the room is the snapping of your neck. From the looks of it, you die almost instantly. I don't bother to take down your body, and I choose instead to leave it hanging from the low part of the ceiling.

And then, just like that, it's all over. All of you are gone. Nearly everything that I've wanted to accomplish for so long has been completed. Now there's only one last thing that I have to do.

From the table, I grab my final tool- a simple box of matches. It really came as a surprise to me that none of you ever commented on the gasoline that I poured all over the floor in anticipation for this moment.

_Are you ready, Bakura?_ I remove a match from the box, and get ready to strike it. I have no fears, so my hand isn't shaking in the slightest. Like Anzu, I never had any fear for my death in the first place. After all, I had no regrets. _The ring is going to be burned, along with the puzzle and the rest of us, after all._

You don't even hesitate to answer me. _I'm just like you, Ryou. I don't have any more regrets in this world. Go ahead and end everything once and for all, just like you planned. I'm sure that we'll find each other someday in the afterlife, wherever that takes us._ I nod.

_I'll look for you. And even if I don't find you, I'll always, always remember you, partner._

And just like that, the match is lit.

Nothing more is said.

Xxx

…And that's it. Over two weeks of on and off work, and three days of editing/typing into a word document, and this is what I have to show for it. Reading over it, I feel like it ended up a little on the choppy side, but if you think about it, that's to be expected- I honestly wrote this in small increments, on the rare occasions that I had a free moment (damn school musical, taking up all my time). I think I made it flow a bit better than the first draft did, but I don't know. I feel like It's missing something.

…Oh well.

If you actually read this far, would you mind reviewing? I put A LOT of effort into this, and I don't want to see it get ignored completely. Even if you just want to say how much you hate it, that's fine. I just want to know that people read this.

Oh, and one more thing that's actually unrelated to this fic. I'd like to announce that I have YET ANOTHER new fic in development! I don't want to release too many details since it's still in the planning stage, but I will say a couple things. One, it's deathshipping. At least, it will be eventually. And two, it's gonna be AU, but if all goes according to plan, this shit is going to be interesting as hell to write. Serial killers, my friends. This research I've been doing on them will pay off for sure.

But that's all for this long Author's note. Until next time, guys.


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